7 Years Old!

 The BIG 7!

Can you believe I am officially 7? 

This year has been like non other to say the least. 

So, without further a-do, here are the top 10 things that have happened to me this year - half the year was normal, and then the last part of my year is COVID Addition 😃: 

1. Family....between a cold winter and COVID, we had a LOT of Family time this year, which I loved! 

2. A Message from The King! Yes...Hamilton is one of my favorite movies, so naturally I wanted to be King George for Halloween this past year! I mean, who doesn't want to be the King of the Candy! 

We decided to do a Star Wars theme for our pumpkins this year as well. (My dad gets all the credit for the idea, but I did the paint job!)

3.  Movies and Pizza...my two FAVORITE things! Every Friday we have a movie and pizza night. (yes, every Friday!) We decided since it was cold outside that we would have some fun and make our own movie-theater experience at home! This has now become a tradition in our home, and by selling food, tickets to the movie, my piggy bank is filling up!

4. Cooking..I love to help my mom out in the kitchen, and she now lets me do it all on my own! (I still haven't mastered the art of keeping a clean kitchen while cooking, but no one seems to complain!)

5. Trains...some things NEVER change, I love trains! There was a train expo in town so my mom decided we needed to go. It was so much fun and I of course wanted to buy every train possible! (Who knew model trains were so expensive!)

6. Riding my bike! The training wheels are officially off and I am ready to hit the big trails! Watch out because I like to ride fast, and stop quickly so my tires make marks! 

This was my first attempt at riding my bike without training wheels! Dad gave me a push, Mom recoded it and I was off and biking! 

7. School ...I officially completed first grade, and am very excited to be going into 2nd grade next year! We were only in school about 1/2 the year until the Stay At Home Orders went into effect! Luckily my mom made it home about a day before that happened from Vancouver - otherwise she would have been stuck there! She then became my teacher for the rest of the year, which wasn't so bad as she made it fun!

Learning and lounging! 

My mom decided it was too nice out to teach indoors, so she got creative for my writing assignment! 

My Uncle Dave (The Sheriff) made a guest appearance on my class zoom call! 

There was a drive-by parade at the end of the year so we made sure to have a big sign for all the teachers to see! 

8. Gardening.... I planted carrots, peppers, tomatoes for the summer (Which was part of my science experiment for school!) 

9. Unrest...A lot was going on in Minneapolis to say the least in May/June. The city was in a state of unrest, and my mom and dad made sure that I  understood and learned a lot about racial injustice. I am so thankful that my cousin, Dominic was in Minneapolis to help protect our communities (and that we were able to see him!) During the time of the unrest, I helped my mom do all of Dominic's Unit for the National Guard's laundry. We even had the opportunity to provide them all with a meal for dinner one evening. 

10. Summer Time! Like all the summers before, I enjoyed my time at the lake! (This year we spent more time than usual since we were all on Stay at Home Orders!) I truly enjoy being in the water, making smores and hanging out by the campfire! My favorite thing to do is to bring a chair into the water, have a smore and watch the sunset. 

I also received a trampoline for my birthday, but as I am writing this update, my dad is currently setting it up and asking mom to come and help....I will have to post pictures of that on my next update because I am sure I will be using it a lot! 

Well, until next time, stay safe and healthy...and don't forget to Mask Up! 

 PS - My mom still says "Smile" even when we wear our masks! haha

The big 6!

The Big 6!

Time sure does fly when you are having fun, and in a blink of an eye, I turned 6! (Can you believe it?)
This year's birthday as a little different than years past. We decided to pack up and head on a 9 day adventure after I finished Kindergarten and hit the open road! We drove the Lake Superior Loop, and boy was it fun! Here is a family picture from our trip:

Once again, I want to keep up with tradition I wanted to share with you my Top 10 things I enjoy now that I am the Big 6 (Which is what I consider to be classified as an "Adult" and not a kid!)

1. Ice Cream....Who doesn't love that delicious cold treat? I especially like it when my Grandpa comes to town and we have it for breakfast! (His tradition, which I am happy to join in on!)

2. Trains....shocker I know! All the years of updates, and one thing remains the same, I LOVE TRAINS!

3. Adventures...Between nature hikes, random festivals or just a surprise fun day, I love any adventure that comes my way!

4. Cooking....You can call me Chef Donovan! I love helping my mom cook, and we have decided that Sunday's are our cooking days together! Needless to say the kitchen is pretty dirty when we are done, but we love every minute of it!

5. MN Gophers....once again, I am a huge University of MN Gophers fan. Needless to say my mom and dad are not...they are big University of North Dakota fans! They are big rivalries, but what can I say...my cousin Jessica is a U of M Hockey Cheerleader, so her love for the Gophers rubbed of on me!

6. The Tooth-fairy....Boy-o-boy has she been busy! I have lost a total of 4 teeth so far, with a few more loose one right now! I get really excited to see the money she brings me (so I can put it in my piggy bank)!

7. Airplane Rides....Nothing I like better than to go on an airplane as we fly off to an adventure. (Or as I like to call airplanes, Mom's work!)

8. The Lake...I truly enjoy my time at the lake getting to sit by the campfire, swimming in the water and going fishing of course! (My cousin Dominic sure knows how to fish!)

  

9. Cousins...Spending time with my cousins Ben and Mateo is always a great time! We definitely give my mom and dad a run for their money, but we have a great time at our annual sleepover weekend!

10. Family...I love getting to spend time with my grandparents as often as I can! I was one luckly guy to have them all at my Kindergarten graduation!

Well, that about wraps things up for my 6-year recap! Hope you all enjoyed and stay tuned for more adventures to come....I have a long list of "To-Do's" for this upcoming year!!

Stay cool everyone! (Like me in my sweet shades!)

- Donovan

Merry Christmas & Happy 2019!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are excited for the New Year! 

We celebrated Christmas in Wisconsin and Minnesota with both sides of the family, and I thought I would share something fun and exciting I did over the holidays....

This year I asked Santa for a University of Minnesota Gophers hockey jersey...and the big guy came through! (Probably because I have been a good boy all year long.) 

Funny thing is...my mom and dad are NOT Gopher fans, they bleed green and black for the University of North Dakota (who have always been rivals of the University of Minnesota). They are not thrilled with my choice of a favorite college team, but they never pass up the opportunity to make me smile! We have gone to a few Gopher Hockey games  and the best part is my cousin, Jessica, is a Men's Hockey Cheerleader for the Gophers!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying the New Year! From my family to yours, Happy 2019! 

Love, 

Donovan

Finally 5 Years Old!

Well, I am officially 5 years old, and to keep up with tradition I wanted to share with you my Top 10 things I did this year!

1. Playing with my toys in the backyard with my mom, dad and my cousins!

2. Our annual trip to the North Shore to hike the trails, stay in hotels (including jumping on the beds, swimming in the pools, and getting to have picnics in the woods!)

3. Watching my cousin Dominic play rugby and my mom referee. Unfortunately my dad broke his collarbone this past season, so he had to take the season off. Not to worry though, he is all healed up! (I took great care of him!)

4. Biking riding around the neighborhood (and eating carrots from the garden...yes, at the same time!)

5. Spending time at the Children's Museum and of course getting to play games! (My current favorite is Pie Face!)


6. Halloween Time! This year I dressed up as a Policeman and got to go out trick-or-treating with my friends (with mom and dad too of course!). We also carved pumpkins and they turned out great!

7. Playing in the snow! (Who doesn't love building a snowman!)

Speaking of snow...we love going to the outdoor festival on the lake...yes, on the frozen lake! This year they had a giant swing which was by far my favorite thing to play on!

8. Preschool Graduation...yes, it is official I am off to Kindergarten in September and will be in the Class of 2031!

9. Spending time with my Auntie Kimmy and Uncle Kevin! Now that they are officially back in the U.S.A. for good, I love getting to spend as much time as possible with them! (Between the ice cream and pixie sticks, I think you can tell they spoil me like crazy!!)

10. Once again this year I got to enjoy spending as much time as we could at the lake! Since my daycare had a whole week off for her vacation, I got a mini vacation of my own at the lake with Grandma and Grandpa!  (Ok, mom and dad and the rest of the family joined in too on the weekend!)

I had a blast fishing with Dominic, having s'mores by the fire, swimming, and just spending quality time with everyone!


That is about it for my Top 10 for turning 5 years old, hope you enjoyed and I can't wait to see what this year will bring with more adventures and fun!
- Donovan